VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says it has received a commitment from the Finance Ministry and the Environment and Forestry Ministry to maximize the use of rooftop solar panels in their buildings across Indonesia.

Sutijastoto, the ministry’s director-general for new and renewable energy, said the two ministries’ buildings, whether central or regional offices, had a total potential capacity of around 100 megawatts (MW).

“The energy minister [Ignasius Jonan] has got approval from the two ministries. In five years' time, the two ministries’ offices will able to add 100 MW from their solar rooftop installations,” he told the press in a briefing 

He said that the use of the rooftop solar panels could start in 2020 on a small scale and the number would be increased in 2021. “At the earliest in 2020 they will start to install rooftop solar panels, especially the environment ministry, which will conduct its planned renovation soon,” he said.

In more detail, the Institute for Essential Service Reform (IESR), which is working together with the energy ministry in formulating a solar-rooftop roadmap, calculated that the Finance Ministry had a potential of 50 MW per rooftop solar panel.

“The Finance Ministry has a total of around 700 buildings across Indonesia, which on average could generate 78-kilowatt peak [kWp] each,” IESR executive director Fabby Tumiwa said 

Meanwhile Fabby said the environment ministry had around 200 buildings across Indonesia with average potential power capacity of 11 MW per building.